Tryptophan is an amino acid which is essential for cell proliferation and survival. Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase is a heme-containing intracellular enzyme that catalyzes the first and rate-determining step in the degradation of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan to N-formyl-kynurenine. N-formyl-kynurenine is then metabolized by multiple steps to eventually produce nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). Tryptophan catabolites produced from N-formyl-kynurenine, such as kynurenine, are known to be preferentially cytotoxic to T-cells. Thus an overexpression of IDO can lead to increased tolerance in the tumor microenvironment. IDO overexpression has been shown to be an independent prognostic factor for decreased survival in patients with melanoma, pancreatic, colorectal and endometrial cancers among others. Moreover, IDO has been found to be implicated in neurologic and psychiatric disorders including mood disorders as well as other chronic diseases characterized by IDO activation and tryptophan depletion, such as viral infections, for example AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, cancers including T-cell leukemia and colon cancer, autoimmune diseases, diseases of the eye such as cataracts, bacterial infections such as Lyme disease, and streptococcal infections.
Accordingly, an agent which is safe and effective in inhibiting the enzymatic function of IDO would be a most welcomed addition to the physician's armamentarium.